Bonding with the Beastboy
by requim17
Summary: Post Abarat 2. Originally "The Balcony Scene." Continued to include Letheo's *mis*adventures with the rest of Candy and Co.
1. Candy's Balcony

**I do not claim the world of Abarat at all.  
**

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Candy Quakenbush sighed happily from her vantage point on the Yebba Dim Day. After arriving from Huffaker in a small angler's boat just the other day, life for her at the informal capital of Abarat had consisted of never-ending talks, war discussions, and magic lessons all melded together in a cacophony of chaos that only Abaratians could think up. Although, recently some of the group had gone to sleep and she had found a few minutes to sneak out on a small balcony and finally get some time to herself. Some peace and quiet.

Princess Boa was presently mad at her for intentionally avoiding Finnegan, and so when she said "to herself" she really meant it.

She closed her eyes and breathed the wind in through her nose. The eight-o-clock hour was the first of the night islands, and it thrummed with energy. Despite the ominous war that hung over all their heads, it made her feel alive and in the moment.

There was a tree limb parallel with her face, and she scanned the plant's trunk, wondering if it would hold her weight if she were to take a leap over the rail. Then her eyes snapped back to the hovering branch.

_He knows how to use the shadows_.

His deep-set golden eyes smiled at her and he easily jumped across the distance she had only thought about crossing, and landed inches away.

She glared at him. "How long were you there, watching me?"

"Long enough to have kidnapped you if I wanted." He smiled _that smile_ that never ceased to irritate her, then took a hand off the edge of the balcony to swipe at his hair.

She pursed her lips. "As if you could have gotten far anyways." Even though her talk was tough, she attempted to take an innocuous step backwards. The closer she was to the door…

He rolled his eyes at her. "If I promise not to cross the railing, will you stop acting so ridiculous?"

She glared, affronted. He stared back, not giving an inch.

Finally, she stomped. "Yes!"

His eyes danced and he laughed. "_I promise._"

She crossed her arms. "Well, are you going to tell me what you're doing here or not?"

He grasped the handrails tighter, then started leaning back until his body was at an angle so extreme that if his fingers had slipped, he probably would have fallen right off the nose of the island. "Of course of course." He hung there for a moment, thinking. "How much do you know about _their_ plan for Absolute Midnight?"

She blinked, surprised. "A little bit."

He gave her a look that said _are you really going to play that game_ but continued anyway. "Well I'm sure you know about the stichlings." He swung forward and folded his arms on the rails, rested his head on the backs of his hands. "She destroyed the entire Midnight Palace except for the thirteenth spire, and inside of it she—"

"Yeah, I know. Her and her seamstresses are making an army."

"Well if you knew, why make me explain it to you again?"

"Well I thought you'd say something useful."

He imitated her then stuck his tongue out; she tried to remain as stony-faced as possible.

"Well I'm sure you didn't know she's got eight thousand _teeming_ down there. And that she's going to start her attack as soon as she has a good ten thou'."

"I already assumed the attacks would start soon." She snapped curtly.

He snapped back. "Well excuse me, _your highness_, for not being able to give you better information."

"Don't call me that." The glare had come back into her miss-matched eyes. "I'm—"

This time _he_ cut _her_ off. "You're Candy. I know." He shrugged. "I'm Letheo. Doesn't stop anyone from calling me the beast-boy."

A tacit truce ran between them and he grinned at her still crossed arms. She unfolded them. "I just don't like how everyone treats me different now, okay?"

"Okay." He said, and then he gave her that smile.

And she finally figured out why his smile frustrated her so much. It was disarming. He would disarm her, then pull her off into the ocean. Or put a bag over her head. But in honor of the truce, she changed the subject.

"What do you…know about the sacbrood?"

"I know enough to say that such a foul word shouldn't come out of such a pretty mouth."

"_Letheo…_" she warned, and he grinned cheekily.

"I'm pretty sure the sacbrood are some super secret, super important part of the plan." He scratched his head, sorting through the information in his head. "I know that right about when Lord Carrion employed Vol-the-creepy-bug-guy he spent a lot of time polishing this key and being generally delighted in himself, if that's possible."

"The key!" Candy exclaimed. "He basically chased me all over the Abarat trying to get it."

"Well, then it sounds important. Glad I remembered that bit."

"Of course it was important, Letheo!" She rolled her eyes. "Get on with it!"

He smirked. "No need to get all huffy! Anyway, the important bit is this…he, Vol, and another little guy went on this trip to the pyramids of Xuxux. And it must have been important because the little guy was dead afterwards."

"So, what you've told me is insects, pyramids, key, and a happy Carrion—"

"Equals sacbrood at one o'clock. Yes!"

Everything started to click into place and with a gasp she said, "I need to tell everyone about this."

He watched her silently as she paced back and forth, thinking to herself. Suddenly, she turned and gripped his shoulders. "Thank you!"

He just looked at her, unsure of what else to do. She wasn't backing away.

So with a sheepish grin and a serious expression in his eyes, he leaned the rest of his weight on the railing and reached his hands up to hold those that still rested on his arms.

"Anything for my lady." Then he snickered.

She huffed. "Stop making fun of me, Letheo. It is definitely not as hilarious as you think it is." She pulled her hands away and placed them on her hips.

He laughed again. "No, really. They want me to do anything to earn your trust."

"You, you—what!?" She shrieked, and he widened his eyes in surprise. "I knew it! You're always playing both sides, aren't you?"

He frowned, confused. "I was _kidding, _Candy. You don't need to freak out." He leaned back, away from her. "But _you _were serious weren't you?" Signaling the end of the conversation, he let go of the rails and slid nimbly down the rocky tree. She waited a square second and, feeling a little guilty, peeked over the rail and looked down at his unruly mass of dark hair. Eventually he looked back up at her.

"Where are you going?" She ventured, meekly.

He shrugged, smiled that innocent looking smile. (And she knew he had forgiven her.) "As far away from Gorgossium as I can get." The thought of what would happen if the Hag got her wrinkly hands on him went unsaid between them.

In her ear Princess Boa whispered _Let him go_.

Instead, she inched her arms over the rails and tightly gripped the supports near her knees. She shouted down, "You got your medicine?"

He pulled it out of his pocket and sloshed it around in its bottle. There was perhaps half left. Enough.

"Y'know, Letheo…" by now everything above her waist tilted precariously over the edge of the balcony, and below her, his eyes glowed bright against the contrast of his perpetually shadowed skin. The Izabella swelled and broke on the shoulders of the Yebba Dim Day.

She took a deep breath of the energy- laden breeze.

"…I wouldn't _really_ mind if you crossed the railing."

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**I can't believe I've done it, but I have. Another Abarat ficlet. ****This one is happier, definitely. I felt bad that I wrote such a depressing one and that I was going to leave it depressing. The two people that reviewed _Letheo_ wanted me to continue it, but I have no idea how, so I was instead inspired to finish this happier post-Abarat 2 fic. Wow for me.**

**In case anyone didn't get it, Letheo "joins the group" at this point. My wishful thinking for the actual book :) Oh, BTW, if you're wondering. I named it the Balcony because it has a similar feel to the famous balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet. I suppose it's slightly overused... but I didn't intend for it to be "the balcony scene" it just ended up being like that. Anyway. It's between-the-line romance for anyone else who supports the couple. Like me :) I won't get my hopes up for canon though.  
**

**Maybe I'll continue this and write more friendship ficlets for Letheo between the other characters. Maybe. If I do I'll publish them as chapters and not as oneshots.**


	2. Malingo's Musings

**Letheo and Malingo (or Malingo's Musings)**

The group was in a flurry of excitement about finally having something to do instead of just going to the war room and looking at little figurines.

Letheo did not do flurries. He also didn't do groups.

So when he walked into his first good-guy council (that Candy had insisted he attend so he could meet everyone properly and tell them what he had told her) and noticed everyone chattering animatedly, he felt extremely out-of-place. And when they abruptly stopped and turned and _looked _(and _looked_) he did what he did well…he disappeared.

In fact, he disappeared all the way down to the port, and then he shoved his hands in his pockets and stared ruefully at the Izabella. "WHAT am I doing all the way over here on the YEBBA DIM DAY?"

From the darkness a voice murmured, "Is that rhetorical?"

The beast-boy swiveled around, surprised he had been snuck up on, and came face to face with the geshrat.

"Oh. Hello."

The fist-like man approached and stood next to him on the dock. Letheo wasn't the shy type, so he studied the fish-man unabashedly. He was curious, okay? He'd never met a geshrat before, especially one that wore spiffy clothes.

"What's it like being red?"

"I'm orange."

He blinked. "Can you breathe underwater?"

"No. These are fins not gills."

"So then what's the point of them?"

The red/orange geshrat shrugged. "It protects my face."

"Huh. That sounds useful."

"Hasn't been yet."

He couldn't think of anything else to add (he wasn't really the type to strike up an avid conversation with every being that came along).

So he filled his cheeks up with air and let it back out slowly. He spent a couple of minutes watching the blinking mosquitoes get snapped up by jumping fish and thought about the circle of life. Then he ran his fingers through his hair and mused on how he should wash it soon—it was getting ridiculously greasy.

Then he turned his golden eyes on the geshrat, perturbed at not having space to think to himself, and waited unblinkingly for the fish-beast to get to the point.

There didn't seem to be one (or he had met someone more patient than himself—a type not hard to come by.)

More minutes passed and Letheo's anxiety grew. Waiting also happened to be something he didn't do. He absolutely did not like to waste time, and he was running out of things with which to occupy himself. Staring did not seem to be working.

(Or maybe it was.) The fish-man cleared his throat. "Can you see in the dark?"

"No." He was taken aback. What kind of pointless question was that? The answer was definitely not worth an entire trek down the side of the Yebba.

"Surprising. You're eyes look like they glow."

"Does that have something to do with seeing in the dark?"

"If you stand at the right angle, you can see the glowing eyes of a spider peeking up at you through the grass."

"Good to know."

"Interesting how two people from the night islands can't even see in the dark."

He shrugged his shoulders and the black fabric of his soldier's uniform rustled. "Well, the beast can. And I'd be willing to bet that we see better than anyone from the daylight half." Then the geshrat's words hit him and he remembered that this beast was what Candy had saved from Wolfswinkle. Her first friend had been a night creature (and so he really shouldn't feel so out-of-place). He remembered that the first story of The-Girl-From-The-Hereafter had been of saving a servant who no one thought needed saving.

Not that _that_ mattered for anything. Furthermore, Lord Carrion should not have insinuated he wanted Candy to _help_ him. He could take care of himself. He was not weak-hearted. He had proved that a million times over. So why the hell was he all the way over here preparing to bow his head and talk meekly to these prince and princesses of wherever?

"Let's head back now. The Abarat needs saving."

The boy nodded and they turned and began the walk back up the face of the island. Right. That's what he was here for. _Candy might need a little bit more help_.

"Candy tells me that it's…Letheo?"

"Yup."

"You could call me Malingo."

"Okay."

For the first time Candy's friend let his discomfort show, and, fidgeting, adjusted his jacket. "Oh by the way," he coughed, "thanks, uhm, for ripping Wolfswinkle a new one."

Surprised, Letheo hid a smirk, and was fairly sure he saw Malingo hiding one as well. "No problem. I enjoyed watching that little yellow bastard die."

* * *

**The disclaimer will stand for all chapters. Also, beware the curse words that will continue in later chapters.**

**This chapter sucks, I know it, don't worry. I personally think they get better as they go on. **

Let me tell you a little bit of what's going on here. I decided to continue this as a friendship fic, meaning each chapter is a mini oneshot in which Letheo sort-of befriends a friend of Candy's. There is a background plot going on that I'm not going to deal with that much. You can just imagine what's going on, just as you can imagine what will happen in the third book. Think of this as behind the scenes.

Also, since I'm a known procrastinator, I made myself finish all the chapters before I loaded the first continuation. So everything's done. You'll get one update every week. So finally I won't disappoint all of my reviewers. So this is dedicated to those of you who actually still frequented this page enough to notice a my new fics. Thanks for trying to keep the book alive :D However, this is definitely not dedicated to the person who yelled at me in an inbox message. I didn't promise an update, so don't yell at me for one. That's just ridiculous. I propose that, if you want new stuff in the Abarat archive, write it yourself! I would love to read and review someone else's work.

Okay, now that the bad energy has been rid of, I just wanted to say how awesome it was to write all of these characters! It was a surprising amount of fun, especially the ones that didn't have a lot of page time. Malingo was really hard for me because I couldn't remember his character that well. And for some reason I couldn't think of something original to use for background or plot or anything. It's practically immediately after the first chapter which annoys me. :/ I do like some bits of it though.

I hope everyone is still around to read this! And that if you are, you stick around for next week! :]


	3. Finnegan Enters the Fray

**Letheo and Finnegan (or Finnegan enters the Fray**)

He wasn't lost. He had _not_ seen that square-shaped stone before.

If he just put his hand on the wall and followed it, he had to get to his room eventually.

He made a little scratch mark on the stalker stone though, just in case. He had only walked about ten feet when he heard a rustling sound, and when he swiveled there were two skinny arms buffing out the scratch.

"Now that is just not fair."

Finished with their work, the spindly appendices shook a finger at him, then disappeared back into the mortar.

He hmphed and kicked the wall. If this were Gorgossium he could just drop right here and go so sleep and no one would have looked twice.

Someone obviously heard him talking to himself and was loudly walking to investigate. How embarrassing. The loud walker turned the corner and he recognized the man with skin like Night.

"Oh, hello there, Letheo." The man strode up to him as a prince should, with a smile on his face and his shoulders ram-rod straight, "Finnegan."

They shook hands and he felt very foolish.

"I just had a couple questions about what you talked about today, were you heading somewhere?"

"To my room." He had been making _such_ progress by the way.

"Well then, I shall accompany you."

And so Finnegan led the way and Letheo followed, much more comfortable trailing in his shadow. Although, the prince didn't seem to understand this and kept slowing down for him to catch up. Thusly the poor ex-assassin-servant was quite baffled. During a particular instance when a flying-light thing temporarily blinded him, Finnegan clapped a hand onto his shoulder, which then kept the boy from fading into his footsteps.

The prince asked annoying detailed questions, some of which he answered unwillingly and most of which he didn't know answers to.

The dreadlocked dragon-killer apologized (again) for being so frustratingly picky and (again) mentioned how he just wanted to keep everyone safe. "This adventure for the key and possibly to Xuxux is going to be dangerous. I don't want to lose anymore good people."

"I understand, uh, sir? But I really don't know anything else...sir"

His pearly smile stretched thin. "Nothing else?"

"I'm not hiding anything. I don't want Candy hurt just as much as you." Then as an afterthought he added, "or Malingo, or anyone else for that matter."

One of the spindly arms shot out of the wall and yanked a lock of hair out of his head. He winced. "This place doesn't like me."

Finnegan laughed and pointed at a broken dreadlock. "Maybe. But who can really say what the Abarat is thinking?" He shuffled his long hair around, "you seem like a nice kid, Letheo."

"I don't exactly consider myself a 'nice kid.'"

The prince barked out a laugh and steered the two into a sudden hallway. "I suppose you aren't. In that case I should get some details about you."

Letheo was used to duality, but he sensed none from Finnegan, and that quite unnerved him. Especially since the all-for-the-good-of-the-party questions sounded a little too much like an interrogation.

"So, how did you meet Carrion?"

That was a long story, and not a flowers and unicorns type either. So he summed it up. "He was going to train me to be an assassin."

"He seems to have trained you well on how to be a spy."

This sentence embodied Finnegan. Letheo wasn't sure if he was bitter, or befriending him. "What exactly do you mean by _that_?"

He apologized in a princely manner all over again then mentioned how he just wanted to test his reaction so he could have absolute confidence in the beast-boy's loyalties. After all, he had already lost Boa to Carrion once.

Maybe that was an accusation? But in a strange way he could understand why the half-breed would feel that way. He wanted to retort and say how his loyalties were fully with Candy, and how for there to be good somewhere in the entire frikkin' Abarat it had to be imported, but he lacked conviction.

There was a hallway of wooden doors, and so he opened one that looked promisingly empty and disappeared inside it. Automatically he pulled the vial out of his pocket to place near the head of the floor mat.

It was so automatic that he hadn't even noticed his actions until he was standing above it with folded arms and judging how much time he had left (a hobby he embarked on often). He paused, looked at himself from the outside, and hated how pathetically see-through he was.

So he opened the door. Came face-to-face with Finnegan-the-dragon-slayer, and looked him straight in the eye. The other man stared back humbly.

"I'm only loyal to the green thuaz. At the moment I have it. You can interpret that as you want, because I can't."

Then he reclosed the door and sat on the ground, feeling simultaneously selfish and at odds with his freedom. While staring at his veins he told the cursed beast exactly how much trouble it was.

Someone obviously heard him talking to himself and loudly knocked on the door to investigate. Here he went again. The knocker edged the crack wider and the man with the skin like Night stepped through.

He looked up at Finnegan from the floor.

"You really are a major asset to the team, Letheo. Without you we wouldn't be nearly as close as we are." He approached and crouched next to him. "I trust you. And I'm not just saying that." From his boot he pulled a dagger. "I will trust you with my life, and with everyone else's." He lay the dagger next to him and spoke amiably, "Any friend of Candy is a friend of mine."

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**Well, there's Finnegan's portion.**

I'm glad I'm uploading all of these actually. It helps me feel like I actually finished something on this site that wasn't a oneshot. :/

I like this one, but sometimes wording things were difficult. And I tried to make Finnegan look like a nice guy while being a tough leader. I hope it didn't come off as him being a secretive asshole or something

My favorite part is Letheo following behind Finnegan because that's what he thinks is proper. Love it. And it's another one of the things you can see the change in by the end of the fanfic.

Alright, maybe somebody will review this week! :fingers crossed!:


	4. Plunging for Peachtree

Letheo and Geneva Peachtree (or Plunging for Peachtree)

It was a balmy day and the sun shimmered happily on the sea spray that bounced off the waves and flecked off my dark skin. I would have called it a beautiful day, except I couldn't get my mind off the beauty of my home hour which we wouldn't be passing on this extended route to Xuxux; we had to avoid Gorgossium. I completely understand the reasoning, not everyone survived our last encounter with Mater Motley, but it doesn't lessen my disappointment, so for my own conscience I'm attributing it to my far away home instead of a warrior urge for revenge.

Stretching my banded arms above my head, I turned to face the ship. The poor girl was still in shambles. Even though Finnegan had repaired the holes on the top deck and had the masts fortified, we were still missing a second sail and most of the riggings. Not to mention, two days ago the ship sprung a leak and destroyed most of our food supplies. Tasty salty soggy bread. Half of the day had gone by patching up the hull and hauling out the underdeck, and all of this in the middle of the Isabella. Supposedly, we weren't even going to reach a safe, small port for days, and we would have to go with barnacles and boiled water until then.

Finnegan is ridiculously worried about rumors spreading, and so I get to starve. He doesn't want news of our traveling reaching Mater Motley, so we can only go to ports he's okayed and are small enough that we can watch whoever's watching us. I guess I get it, but it irks me how much the new kid loves it. It's completely contradictory. I mean, obviously he's a spy, but by supporting this idea so much he's making it extremely difficult for himself to pass information.

The ship creaked loudly as she turned, and the monotony of the trip and my thoughts hit me again. Without sighing or growling or anything (quite proud of myself for that) I slid down to the deck and pulled out my daggers. From a side-pouch I got my handy whetstone and began re-sharpening the already hair-thin edges. It never hurt to be unreasonably prepared.

_Ring_ of the metal. Hold the whetstone steady. Bring the blade against it to a certain angle. Pull back. _Ring._ With every repeat, the sun gleamed off the small knives—the sun that hadn't set for days. _Ring._ The waves hit the side of the ship in a gentle rocking motion. Sort of a crashing whoosh sound. The sun bounced into my eyes. _Ring._ The hum of conversation reached my ears and I didn't have to listen to know it was the same old conversation with the same old jokes. A wave hit the boat and I blinked the flash of sun from my eyes. _Ring._ My stomach growled.

"DAMN IT! I am so sick of being hungry!" I shrieked (fiercely and warrior-like). _I am so tired of the monotony! I am SO TIRED OF WAITING!_ "Can't we just get on with this trip!?" I stab the dagger into the boards of the ship, then pull it out and begin re-sharpening it. "Finnegan just needs to hurry it up. I don't care if that means I'm that much closer to my death. Who really believes in all that savoring your last moments bullshit anyway? Anyone?" I wait a beat as if waiting for an answer. I know I'm on the emptier side of the ship. "If I _wanted_ to savor my life, I wouldn't be on a ship starving and far from home—I'd be working in a brothel."

Someone chuckled. I turned my head sharply and glared at a figure swinging from one of the ropes. The new boy dropped down to the deck with a thud. "You got a problem, kid?"

He shrugged and I glowered while calculating exactly how insolent the brat was. "Just wondering if I could borrow that stone after you, ma'am."

Bugger, I couldn't call him insolent anymore. "No."

My dismissal was unfortunately ineffectual and he crouched down to study my motions more. I stilled to spite him, but after a few seconds I continued, because this needed to get done right this moment and damn it all if he was going to be the one that slowed me down. He rested his arms on his knees and placed his head on them—a terrible position both defensively and offensively. _Idiot, I'm holding daggers_. The pants he had worn the first day had been ripped off at the knee and loose salt-encrusted threads waved stiffly in the wind. An unruly mass of dark curls framed his face and gleaming golden eyes watched my hands beneath it.

I felt strangely defensive, and my body acted on its own accord. Warrior spirit and all that. I should have felt slightly more guilty about this, but the yellow crossed the line from innocent into an animalistic uncanny-ness. So, really, it was all his fault. And it was just a test anyways.

With the stone only halfway up the blade, I snapped my wrist back and flung the dagger end over end towards his head (oops). He raised his eyebrows in surprise, but tilted to the right, and the tip of my blade dug into the small mast behind him.

In the aftermath, I was glad it didn't hit him. Explaining myself would have been a bitch.

He reached over his head to pull out the projectile, but it stuck tight. I didn't spend years practicing a simple throw like that for nothing, folks.

He turned to look at me warily. "…You won't attack me again if I turn my back to get this out, right?"

I shrugged. I didn't do anything else completely silly, though, as he pulled a similar dagger out of the waistband of his pants, and used it to pry mine out of the thick wood. Instead of immediately giving it back to me, he started experimenting with it, testing its balance and sharpness relative to his own blade. I had to make a sharp sounding screech with my whetstone and second blade before he grinned and tossed it back to me.

He made a flicking motion with his hands as he began practicing the exact throw I'd just done, and after a few times began to land it successfully in the grain of the mast. There was no way he would ever be as good as I was, but it unnerved me how quickly he had picked up such a dangerous attack.

If I kept sharpening my blades like this there would be nothing left by the time we reached Xuxux, but I definitely didn't want to go back to doing nothing, especially when this kid was here. Couldn't he go practice somewhere else? I had more important things to be annoyed with than him.

"Get out of here." I gave him one of my good warrior glares. He turned his head and quirked a surprised eyebrow at me. He also gave me a look to make me think he had forgotten I was there. Asshole. "You heard me. Skedaddle." This time I growled menacingly. How dare he not find me frightening?

Then my stomach growled. Really loudly. I tried to play it off by deepening my glare but the corners of his mouth still twitched with the need to laugh. If he laughed at me I would kill him. No second thoughts and screw the consequences.

A broad grin slipped through his defenses and he leapt away, grabbing onto the rope he had originally dropped from and swinging onto other pieces of rigging.

Finally.

Then there was nothing to do, and I was too hungry to work out. So I closed my eyes and tried to hibernate. _Ring…_The sun shined brightly, turning the undersides of my eyelids red, and the waves made a gentle rocking motion, nursing me into a deep sleep. _Ring_…the hum of…distant conversation…and the warm…sun on my face…_Ring…_wait. What was ringing?

I opened my eyes, and high above me crouched the beast-boy. He had discarded his shirt and stared with animal-like stillness into the Izabella below. His toes curled around the T of the mast so he could use his _hands to SHARPEN HIS __**BLADE WITH **__**MY STONE!**__**!! **_He must have heard me choke because he dropped it back down to me before diving gracefully into the ocean.

I gaped and flung myself into a standing position so I could see where he landed, but the waves disguised his ripples and only the blue reflection of the sky and the red hull of the ship greeted me. I waited a whole minute. Then two more. Should I raise an alarm? Did I care enough to walk all the way to the other side of the ship to tell Finnegan? If some idiot decided to drown in the ocean, what were we going to do about it?

At least another minute passed before I heard a screech and a thump before getting water sprayed onto the side of my face. I turned my head and saw a man-sized fish beast flopping on the deck and gasping for breath not even ten feet from me. Ew. I had been hit with fish spit.

While I took a moment to blink, the boy flipped over the railing and gutted the thing. Orange blood and guts flowed around his feet and dripped back into the ocean through the flood holes.

"Hungry?"

He gave me a half smile so I gave him back the other half. "Fuck yeah." My stomach rumbled again and I held back a chuckle. "From now on you can borrow my whetstone whenever you want." Damn, he could borrow my _blades_ if he wanted!

Maybe this kid…Leo?...wouldn't be so bad to have around.

* * *

**This one is my favorite. :]**

It's also the longest. I know, and it's an obscure character too, but maybe that's why it was so long. I got to mess around with how Geneva thinks. The only things I knew about her before starting this chapter was what I could gain from the website, so writing this chapter was a little daunting, but I'm glad I did instead of skipping it! Even though there's not a lot of character growth by Letheo in this chapter, we're seeing others get used to him. Plus, he's super cool in this chapter. I mean, plunging into the ocean and going fish-hunting? That's just awesome. :P

And yeah, StupidIsMyMiddleName, I will be updating once a week. Friday or Saturday.

In case it was confusing, Geneva was sharpening her blades because she had nothing to do, not for any purpose.

My favorite part is when Geneva says "explaining myself would have been a bitch." hahaha :P How dumb am I to laugh at my own jokes? XD

There are 3 left after this!


	5. Foul with Filch

Letheo and Filch (or Foul with Filch)

He ran his fingers through his slicked back hair, still uncomfortable with being well-dressed. Around him all sorts of Abaratians flowed, mingling and dancing. There were types from all hours, celebrating their small victory while having one last hurrah before the war preparations began tomorrow.

The whole thing felt like a giant waste of time, and wasting time made him touchy. Which was why that girl's staring, normally ignorable, was bringing him closer to murder.

She wasn't even subtle. Dumb thing.

Go away!!! He screamed mentally. The psychic blast didn't affect her, and she lasted another infuriating minute unblinkingly.

He snapped just a little more. "Wanna dance, babe?" He sneered.

Her eyes widened in absolute horror, and she ran back into the crowd as fast as her feet could carry her. He really needed to get control of his mouth before someone dragged his ass back to jail. So he turned around, ducking his head while noiselessly slipping into the shadows, and let his feet wander in the myriad of passageways that he had tracked Candy through months—a lifetime—ago.

Mostly he got lost. During his first tourist adventure here he hadn't payed attention to the Twilight Palace, all he had to do was track Candy, not worry about where the exit was.

"My life is pretty damn different," he mused. Deep thoughts were a good sign, it meant that he was cooling off, but he definitely wasn't going to retrace his steps and head back. Not back to those ridiculously happy people. Instead, his feet led him to a dark room that looked as if an army had torn through it, and, interested, he stopped to look. It must've been where Candy killed Otto Houlihan.

His trained ears picked up the faintest scuffle of feet, and he leapt towards the sound, grabbing a small creature by the scruff of it's neck.

He brought it closer to his face and stared into the bright eyes of a filthy animal. "Haven't I seen you before?"

"No. Nope. Let me go. I don't know anything."

Letheo gave the thing a weird look. "I've definitely seen you before." He snapped his fingers. "You're that munkee I tied up! You weren't very helpful."

"I'll be more helpful this time I promise; don't hurt me." He struggled some more in fear.

He was really scaring a lot of people today, he had forgotten what that felt like. "Stop squirming and I won't have to restrain you." He grinned when the munkee froze stiff.

He dropped it and crouched down to it's eye-level. "I'm Letheo. Who're you?"

The animal just stared at him with wide eyes, obviously waiting for a chance to crawl up a wall and escape.

"You're a munkee, got it. Thanks." He glanced around the dim room. "What's this?" He pointed at some dark object sticking out of a wall. "Looks familiar."

He walked a few steps closer to inspect it, but the munkee shrieked and grabbed his leg, trying to anchor him in place. It wasn't very effective. But, he lifted his leg and peered at the thing draped around his shin. "Er, okay never mind then." He took a few steps back, but when the munkee didn't let go, strode across the room and onto the back wall where he wouldn't touch anything he wasn't supposed to. He tried again to make conversation. "How come you're not at the big party going on somewhere around here?"

It didn't answer. Scaring everybody shitless was not as fun as he remembered it to be. "Fine, don't talk. Decorate my leg. Pick your nose. What do I care?"

He leaned against the wall and grouched. He couldn't even continue his walk with this dead weight petrified on him. He grumbled under his breath, "I'm Letheo, who're you? It's a simple question. Obviously I'm not going to hurt you. If I was going to I would have a few months ago, when I actually had a reason. This is pathetic." Even more pathetic, he'd gotten used to having people around who wanted to have conversations with him.

"F-f-filch."

He waited a beat, raised an eyebrow. "Did you just cuss me out?"

It released him and started running.

"Well, fuck you too."

* * *

**I really love this one too :]**

Sorry it's so short though...I meant to actually make it a lot longer, but when this happened I couldn't bring myself to change it hahah. All I can hope for is that you enjoy it as much as I did.

Originally they were going to talk about their parts in this whole Abarat/helping Candy story. Almost breaking the third wall but not, y'know? As in, Filch would have said, "at least you saved her from harm at the end" or something like that. I was feeling nostalgic for the characters I would never see again when I was thinking up the plot for it way back when (I assumed that Letheo would not be a major player in the story).

I still assume that -_-

But I like this "moral" --if i can call it that-- much better. He isn't going to become friends with EVERYBODY. Not everyone is going to like you.

And I also like the "growth" that's there. He's getting used to people(/friends).

So, I liked it :] I hope you do too. Only 2 left!


	6. The John's Jibes

Letheo and John Mischief (or the Johns' Jibes)

"Hey, lover boy!"

Not cool. Definitely not cool. Sure, the brothers always used to shout obscenities at him, but he knew how to respond to that. John Serpent, the worst of them all, had usually stuck to calling him 'beast boy,' but apparently he'd found a new favorite--

"That's right, sweetlips. You know I'm talking to you. _Looooover Boy._" The John brothers erupted in a cacophony of jeers, and he felt his cheeks burn. Hopefully his dark skin would hide the stupid blush. To think, something like this, to be the reason for his first--ridiculous.

He tried escaping, but John Mischief practically pounced on him and looped an arm around his shoulders. "Sorry about the children, they're just jealous. I couldn't help overhearing, though, about this smooch. You wanna talk about it? Man to man?" He waggled his eyebrows, and then John Slop wiggled his too.

He shrugged himself out from underneath the red man's arm and tried to keep his face expressionless. Any weakness and these little demons wouldn't give him a second's peace.

"Don't want to talk about it? We can re-enact it if you like." John Mischief puckered his lips and leaned forward.

"I didn't kiss anyone."

John Moot added his pandering voice to the mix. "I believe him you guys, let's leave him alone."

"But," added nasally John Sallow, "didn't you hear Boa talk about it to Finnegan? We all agreed we heard 'kiss.'"

"Oh, you're right," Moot replied, "Boa said so."

"Nothing happened." He scowled.

"Au contraire." John Mischief grinned.

"Aren't you going to tell us how much tongue was involved?" John Serpent drawled, chuckling caustically.

"That's disgusting," spoke John Fillet.

"I didn't do _anything._"

"I think even I can agree that you're lying. We can read people. We're master thieves." John Pluckitt's voice rose above theirs.

"_I'm _the master thief," said John Mischief, "you all just watch my back, barely."

"Keep talking like that and you won't even get that out of us."

"So, lover boy," John Serpent whistled, "how about you give us your dagger to keep our mouths shut about this?"

"I'd cut your tongue's out first."

"Ooh, feisty, I wonder why she'd want to kiss such a foul mouth." Letheo scowled and John Serpent smirked triumphantly. "And you should have listened closer. We're master thieves. We'll just steal it. At least if you had given it to us you would've gotten something besides an empty pocket and been something besides completely useless."

He had his blade out in a flash and pressed it threateningly to where John Serpent met their horns. "Leave me alone."

"Relax," the brothers cried. Mischief said, "I don't want your butter knife." Then he said, "And I'm the one with hands, so my opinion is what counts. Besides, I like to use my hands for more interesting quests." He raised both and squeezed the air pervertedly.

"Oh, why am I still talking to you?" Letheo turned, loosened his grip on the dagger, and started stomping off.

As he was leaving, one of them called out, "Why was the reasoning behind the kiss anyway?"

Without thinking, he lifted a shoulder in a half shrug.

"Aha!" John Mischief clapped. "So it's true! Details, details!"

Damn.

The young man put his head down, feeling trapped. The John's jeered louder. "Shheadisme." He mumbled incoherently.

"What?" The main John lifted his eyebrows.

"I _said_, Candy kissed _me._"

The brothers exploded in sound and John Mischief jumped and threw an arm around him again, laughing happily, loudly, and mischievously. "Letheo, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

In the background, John Drowze added,

"What the hell is going on?"

* * *

**HMMMM! We don't know why Candy kissed Letheo, and we never will!**

Blatant shipping? Maybe. Did you like the John Brothers? I didn't remember much about their individual characters, but I did try and include each one and tried to give them characteristics that went with each of their names. Writing their conversations was very discombobulating.

I like when Mischief says "let's reenact it" hahaha. I really do like his character. Definitely one of the cooler ones.

One left!


	7. Boa's Cage

Letheo and Boa (or Boa's Cage)

Candy was standing in the dim light, eyebrows furrowed and obviously in deep conversation with herself. She was ambling along, trying to find Malingo because she was incredibly tired of talking to Boa and needed an excuse to tell her to shut up.

Letheo was minding his own business and taking the long way back to where everybody usually met up. He had been taking extra precautions to not run into Candy or the John brothers without anyone else around. Or Finnegan Hobb. He abso-fucking-lutely did not want to have a one-on-one conversation with that guy.

Anyways. Since he was so damn sure that he was safe from any unpleasant meetings, Fate laughed. As he turned a corner he walked right into Candy and awkward hand movements and body positions were made by both parties. He jumped back.

"Hello, Letheo."

"Er, hi."

"Why have you been avoiding us?" It was just like Candy to get to the point, but he was fairly certain he hadn't been talking to her. Her voice sounded slightly more formal and a glow danced under her skin. Plus Candy never said 'hello Letheo' while nodding her head all regal-like.

"I--what? I've just been busy." He ducked his head and side-stepped around her. "Like right now, you see, I'm going to meet the guys--"

She smiled at him sagely and placed a hand on his right elbow. "How would you like to escort me back?"

In Boa-speak that meant 'No way, Jose, I've got a bone to pick with you,' but he figured he didn't have a choice. So he continued on his route with Boa at his side whilst attempting to look incredibly preoccupied with the sky. She was bashfully looking down and away too, so he didn't feel so bad.

"It's nice to get out and have a walk in the fresh air."

"Mm-hmm." He nodded, still avoiding eye-contact.

"Sitting behind someone's eyes and watching life play out in front of me is sometimes, almost, torturous." She let a small grimace taint her artfully positioned face before returning to that calm princess look. "I'm lucky to have a host as great as Candy who allows me these few moments."

He tilted his head to give her a wide eyed look. "So you're in complete control? Or is Candy inside herself, watching us?" he asked incredulously while also fighting down a sudden bout of inexplicable nervousness.

She blinked, as if looking right into his soul; he wasn't sure what she saw there, but the expression on her face softened. "I do not know the answer to that query. The young one is ignoring me."

"Oh, why?" he responded tactfully.

She looked at him pointedly and he groaned. "Argh, Finnegan _is_ going to kill me." He dragged a hand across his face mournfully.

She laughed, a tinkling sound, and the lilting girly-ness of it seemed so strange coming from Candy's mouth. She also didn't deny it. (But that could have been his paranoia blowing things out of proportion.)

They walked a little further, exchanging a few other small sentences, and generally acting like the acquaintances they were. At least it was mostly amiable.

As the colorful door marking the end of their walk came into view, Princess Boa began the royal overly extended 'nice to meet you.' "It appears our small journey must close,"

"Yeah." (He withheld the sigh of relief.) Although it was weird not saying 'miss' or 'milady' or something official sounding, it would be even stranger having to say it to Candy's face. He opted for the one that didn't leave him tongue-tied.

"Although i do hope our paths coalesce again. You're quite the gentlemen, Letheo." Was that a joke? Were they laughing at him behind that stoic smile? Damn them. Damn Fate for making him almost knock her over and make a giant fool of himself.

Anyways, since he couldn't exactly curse, he replied 'uh, sure,' nodded in what he believed was a respectful enough way, and pressed a hand to the door to swing it open for her. He then moved to separate his arm from her touch, but instead Boa leaned her weight against it and pressed a lingering kiss onto his cheek.

His mouth dropped and he blushed dark (twice in one month, damn it).

Rather than move away after all that bubble bursting, Boa continued to straighten and dust off his clothes--probably to evade his now piercing gaze. "I have decided that if we saw you more, I would not mind so much," she smiled to herself, "and I am fairly certain Candy wouldn't mind either."

At that she clasped her hands behind her back, turned, and stately entered the meeting room, leaving him gaping at an old door. He quite possibly didn't even blink as he spent a seemingly endless amount of time replaying the last few minutes in his head. Thank the gods Carrion wasn't alive to hear about this. He would be so dead. So. Eaten. By. A. Dragon.

Seconds ticked by and eventually the door slid open and Candy's head popped through. Behind her he could hear the others chattering animatedly. "What are you doing out here?" she said, giving him an odd look. "C'mon, everybody's waiting for you!"

* * *

**The End! :]**

I like the ending very much so, it gets Boa on my good side. Sorry about Boa and Candy being in another tiff, they probably will be really good friends in the book. Also, I like this chapter as an ending because he's heading to meet everyone without any sort of nervousness, and everybody is waiting on him, proving that they consider him part of the group. You can tell the difference from Malingo's chapter to here. :]

So I'm happy with this story. It's definitely not the greatest ever, but it was really fun to write. I hope whoever reads it at least partially enjoys it!


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